THE WORD OF GOD

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jn 1:1

AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH

“The conception and birth of Jesus Christ are in fact the greatest work accomplished by the Holy Spirit in the history of creation and salvation…”
Pope John Paul II, The Holy Spirit in the Life of the Church and the World (#50)

‘Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, 1 will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?’ Isaiah 43:18-19

November 14, 2007 will go down as a great day for the unborn – in the document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship the Bishops of the U.S. have placed the Right to Life as the preeminent issue for Catholic voters to consider.

Some might complain that it wasn’t done sooner. Yes, we all know that past statements by the Bishops while pro-life were more ambiguous but many of us also had parents and fellow-parishioners who while sincerely against abortion – just didn’t get it. What didn’t they get – that with the legalization of abortion our world had fundamentally changed.

But God says: ‘Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.’

And He also says: ‘Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?’

In the last two weeks I have encountered two people (sincere Catholics) who have recently decided to place the unborn at the top of their list when it came to voting. I could see the Holy Spirit working in the lives of these people and now with the Bishop’s statement I honestly believe’ a new thing’ is happening.

Here are a few quotes from the Bishops statement:

1. ‘There are some things that we must never do, as individuals or as a society, because they are always incompatible with love of God and neighbor. These intrinsically evil acts must always be rejected and never supported. A preeminent example is the intentional taking of human life through abortion.’

2. ‘A legal system that allows the right to life to be violated on grounds of choice is fundamentally flawed.’

3. ‘Similarly, direct threats to the dignity of human life such as euthanasia, human cloning, and destructive research on human embryos are always intrinsically evil and must be opposed.’

4. ‘As Catholics we are not single-issue voters. A candidate’s position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter’s support. Yet a candidate’s position on a single issue that involves an intrinsic evil, such as support for legal abortion or the promotion of racism, may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving support.’

The bishops have issued similar documents prior to each presidential election since 1976, but this year decided to place a special emphasis on the importance of opposition to abortion and by the way the document was supported by 221 of the 226 bishops who voted.

Of course I have picked things out of the document. Other issues like immigration, poverty, and war are highlighted (as they should be) in the document. But ‘something new’ has definitely happened – the right to life has been given first place.